Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt feels that as entertainers, they are dispensable, and they might be good for noise value but they don’t really contribute to the GDP of the country.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhat is set to make his acting debut in a web series titled Untouchables directed by his daughter Krishna Bhatt.(Yogen Shah)

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt is known for taking risks and experimenting with genres that not many usually opt for. Someone who has churned out multiple films in the erotic thriller genre, he believes in creative freedom.

On whether or not curtailing a filmmaker’s creativity on any ground is justified, Vikram says, “Films have been the favourite whipping boy for anyone who wants to make a statement.” He adds, “Cigarettes are sold in the country — perhaps the only country where you get them without a packet — without a proper ban on selling as well as openly smoking. So, all that goes on [in reality], but if one person is seen smoking in a film, you want to come down heavily on that [person/filmmaker] and curb his/her creative freedom.”

He further points, “Look at the state of animals in the zoo - close to being pathetic. You can have dogs roaming around rabid, but [if a filmmaker uses even] one animal in a film, people [tend to] have a problem. I am sure that even if one has a problem with [their] neighbour; once again the film industry is going to be the favourite whipping boy.”

Referring to the incidents where filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie was mired in controversy, and more recently, Kangana Ranaut’s next, Manikarnika, facing similar threats, Vikram opines that it’s a sad state of affairs. “I think we [filmmakers] are a low-hanging fruit for controversies. Anybody, who wants to make news, the film industry becomes an easy target. And unfortunately, we don’t have our houses protected by the powers that be, and that’s the sad situation,” says the filmmaker, adding that he doesn’t see the situation changing anytime soon.

“That’s because, as entertainers, we are dispensable. We are good for a noise value, but we don’t contribute to the GDP of the country. So, we shall always, unfortunately, see this happening to us,” signs off the filmmaker, who is set to make his acting debut in a web series, Untouchables, directed by his daughter Krishna Bhatt.